Pittsburgh Pirates 2025 Spring Breakout roster breakdown

Who to watch in the second annual Spring Breakout

Mar 07, 2025

The rosters for the second annual Spring Breakout series were released on Thursday. Some of baseball's best prospects will participate.

Last year’s edition featured the top pitching prospect in the game, Paul Skenes, facing the top hitting prospect, Jackson Holliday.

Overall, the event was a success. This year, the Pittsburgh Pirates will face the Philadelphia Phillies in a game featuring some interesting matchups.

Here’s a look at the Pirates’ roster, broken down by position.

Catchers

Omar Alfonzo
Axiel Plaz
Richard Ramirez

This is a very interesting group of catchers, all of whom will start 2025 in the lower levels. Omar Alfonzo is in major league camp as an extra catcher and is getting a few at-bats. He nearly tripled his home run output from 2023 to 2024, making it to High-A.

Axiel Plaz got off to a rough start in the FCL last year, but was promoted to Bradenton to help cover for injuries. He was never sent back down after finishing among the league leaders in home runs at 18 years old.

Perhaps the most unknown of the group, Richard Ramirez has the best arm behind the plate in the system. He threw out nearly 50% of base runners in the Complex and flashed some power, although it currently comes with a lot of swing-and-miss.

Infielders

Jack Brannigan
Termarr Johnson
Jhonny Severino
Mitch Jebb
Tony Blanco Jr.
Yordany De Los Santos
Wyatt Sanford
Tsung-Che Cheng

Not too many surprises here, and there are a lot of repeats from a year ago. Termarr Johnson, Tsung-Che Cheng, and Jack Brannigan were all in major league camp this year.

Tony Blanco Jr. hit a single the other way last year that went 106.1 mph off the bat. He has some of the best raw power in the minors. This will be the unofficial debut for Wyatt Sanford, the Pirates’ second round pick in 2024. He’s a slick defender with excellent bat-to-ball skills.

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Mitch Jebb saw time in the outfield towards the end of last year, a position more suited to his tools. He doesn’t offer much power, but he has great contact skills and led the system in steals last year.

The Minor League Hitter of the Year here on Bucs on Deck, Jhonny Severino recorded double digit home runs and steals in 2024 while splitting time between the FCL and Bradenton. He hit a double in a spring training game recently.

Yordany De Los Santos has put together two strong years in the FCL but hasn’t quite figured it out in Bradenton. He did cut back the strikeouts, has plenty of speed, and is a good defender.

Outfielders

Konnor Griffin
Sammy Siani
Esmerlyn Valdez
Edward Florentino
Lonnie White Jr.

When it comes to the hitters, Konnor Griffin is going to be the main attraction. He hit a home run in a spring training game, and strung together some decent at-bats during his time in major league camp as an 18-year-old.

Sammy Siani was one of the better hitters in the Arizona Fall League this past year. He plays a game that isn’t too dissimilar from Sal Frelick, speed and contact over power and strong defense (with a plus arm). Esmerlyn Valdez led the Florida State League in home runs and was the youngest player in the Pirates’ system to hit at least 20.

Lonnie White Jr. has the tools; he has just struggled with making contact and staying healthy. Edward Florentino was an All-Star in the DSL last year and looks to be making the jump to the States this year. He flashed exit velocity numbers well above average for his age and walked more than he struck out.

Pitchers

Bubba Chandler
Hunter Barco
Anthony Solometo
David Matoma
Wilber Dotel
Jaden Woods
Wilkin Ramos
Nick Dombkowski
Zander Mueth
Brandan Bidois
Khristian Curtis

The headliner is Bubba Chandler, one of the top pitching prospects in the game and coming off a short stint in major league camp. Hunter Barco and Anthony Solometo were also among those recently assigned. David Matoma has reached triple digits with his fastball. He might have the second best fastball in the system behind Chandler.

Wilber Dotel hit triple-digits last year with Greensboro and crossed the century mark in both innings pitched and strikeouts. Jaden Woods is a lefty with good stuff but has struggled to throw strikes.

Returning to the Pirates after being taken by the Mets in the minor league phase of the Rule 5, Wilkin Ramos offers a lot of extension from a low arm slot that generates a ton of horizontal movement.

Nick Dombkowski went from undrafted free agent to a solid depth rotation piece in the minors. Zander Mueth was the Florida Complex League Pitcher of the Year and got a taste of Bradenton before the season closed out.

Brandan Bidois has posted high strikeout rates the last two years, although with some walk issues, and pitched well in the AFL to close out 2024. Khristian Curtis made his unofficial pro debut in this game a year ago before putting together a solid year in Bradenton and then the AFL.

Potential Lineup (with replacement)

3B - Jack Brannigan/Jhonny Severino
2B - Termarr Johnson/Yordany De Los Santos
CF - Konnor Griffin
1B - Esmerlyn Valdez/Axiel Plaz
C - Omar Alfonzo/Richard Ramirez
DH - Tony Blanco Jr.
RF - Sammy Siani/Edward Florentino
LF - Lonnie White Jr./Mitch Jebb
SS - Tsung-Che Cheng/Wyatt Sanford

Yordany and Sanford are probably interchangeable, so they could flip flop if needed. Griffin plays the entire game in center field while Jebb kicks to the outfield despite being listed as an infielder. Valdez is listed as an infielder, but he moves to first, and Plaz (a catcher) also slides in after him. That allows Ramirez to take over behind the plate for Alfonzo.

Phillies players to watch

Andrew Painter will not pitch as he prepares to return from Tommy John surgery. That robs a potential matchup between two of the top pitching prospects in baseball.

Offensively, Aidan Miller is one of the top hitting prospects in baseball. He made his way through three levels last year while hitting .261/.366/.446 with 11 home runs and 23 stolen bases.

Justin Crawford, son of former major leaguer Carl, was another first-round pick with plus speed. He’s stolen 99 bases in just over 200 minor league games. Devin Saltiban spent all of 2024 with Clearwater, hitting 17 home runs, four of which came against Bradenton.

A fourth round pick in 2024 out of Virginia Tech, Carson DeMartini played in 24 games after getting drafted and hit .315/.385/.478 with two home runs and eight stolen bases. He also went deep in a major league spring training game.

The Pirates and Phillies Spring Breakout game will occur on March 14 at 1:05 pm ET.

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